TV station to build digital team in region as it aims to attract younger viewers

CHANNEL 4 has released details of a Leeds-based staff team aimed at building interest in the broadcaster’s output using social media platforms.

4Studio will also be key to reaching a younger audience, the channel has said yesterday.

The team is likely to expand later this year with more opportunities for people in the Leeds region, says the channel.

According to one report which includes an interview with Matt Risley, head of 4Studio, the team is expected to employ around 30 social producers, editors and analysts by the end of the year.

As part of a “digital acceleration strategy”, it will lead the channel’s short-form content publication across social media platforms and delivering on the private-funded, publicly-owned broadcaster’s strategy to serve young audiences in the spaces where they like to consume and interact with media. Mr Risley will lead the team in Leeds after the broadcaster set up national headquarters in the city.

He said: “4Studio will be the goto resource within our business offering guidance and practical support on the creation and publication of digital social content to commissioners, producers and advertisers.”

Mr Risley added: “Our Leedsbased team will specialise in platform specific analysis, tracking trends and enabling a more targeted and tailored approach to social content, commissioning and distribution, supporting our wider ambitions to super-serve young audiences on these platforms.”

4Studio will also work closely with both the digital commissioning team and a 4sales team “offering social-first branded entertainment opportunities to the advertising market”. Youth-focused factual strand True Stories is one example of original Channel 4 short-form content on social media.

It has had more than 46 million views across Facebook and YouTube since launching in February.